Some interactive digital imaging software applications have been designed and implemented that allow the user to view multiple renditions of a source digital image on a monitor and select a most pleasing rendition. Specifically, applications have been employed where the multiple renditions represent different balances of the source digital image, i.e. different brightness renditions or different color renditions. The user when presented with the multiple renditions selects one of the renditions. This type of user interactive display is sometimes referred to as a ring-a-round when a default rendition of the source digital image is displayed in a center position with rendition variations presented about the center position. The digital imaging application then records the user's rendition selection and uses the corresponding image processing parameters associated with the rendition selection to enhance the source digital image.
One of the problems with current multiple rendition digital imaging applications is experienced when the ideal rendition of the digital image is not represented by one of the displayed renditions. For this case the user must select the rendition closest to the hypothetical ideal rendition. Other types of user interactive applications use slider bars or numerical input parameters that allow a user to fine tune the image characteristics of the final image rendition. These types of user interface mechanisms are sometimes difficult to use or may be slow due to the image processing required to generate the next rendition of the digital image for viewing.
What is needed is a user interface that combines the ease of use characteristics of the multiple rendition design interface with the fine tuning characteristics of the slider bar design interface.